Tuesday

May 22, 2018 at 3:30 PMMay 22, 2018 at 3:38 PM

With just more than a week until it can begin issuing business licenses, the Cannabis Control Commission is in the midst of conducting its first background checks for prospective legal marijuana businesses.

Two entities representing five potential licenses have submitted all portions of the CCC's marijuana business license application and the regulatory agency has begun to comb through the applicants' backgrounds as it prepares to begin making decisions about which companies will be cleared to operate in the state's newly legal industry.

CCC Executive Director Shawn Collins said Tuesday that 35 applicants have submitted all necessary information to the CCC, 20 of them have begun the background check authorization process and two applicants seeking a total of five licenses have begun their background checks.

Under the state's marijuana law, the CCC cannot begin issuing licenses until June 1. Once it begins reviewing license applications, the CCC plans to alternate between considering registered marijuana dispensary (RMD) companies and applications from participants in the CCC's economic empowerment program.

"The first initial reaction is to review for completeness and to identify if anything is missing," Collins said. "Then once everything is completed and substantive as far as the application is concerned that will begin the alternating review process."

Applying for a marijuana business license is a multi-step process and the application is made up of four "packets" that the applicant must submit to the CCC -- an application of intent, a background check, a management and operations profile, and payment of the application fee. If the application is approved, payment of the license fee becomes the fifth and final step in the process.

Collins said 25 of the 35 completed applications came from existing RMDs, five came from economic empowerment program participants and the remaining five came from applicants that were not cleared for expedited review.

In total, 81 prospective marijuana businesses have submitted at least one packet of the application to the CCC. Of those that have begun to apply for a license, 25 are seeking to cultivate marijuana, 19 are hoping to act as a retailer, 15 people have applied for the CCC's blessing to work at a marijuana establishment, nine want to manufacture marijuana products, eight microbusinesses have applied for a license, three of the applications are to operate research and testing labs, one craft marijuana cooperative has submitted part of its application and one person has applied to transport marijuana, according to data presented at Tuesday's meeting.

Also Tuesday, the CCC wrapped up its review of priority review applications, a status that would allow the applicant to jump towards the front of the line when submitting its license application to get it in front of the CCC for approval sooner.

Commissioners approved 39 economic empowerment applicants for priority review Tuesday and denied 113 economic empowerment and one RMD applicant for the expedited review. In total, the CCC approved 123 economic empowerment program participants and 82 RMDs for priority review while denying the status for 113 economic empowerment applicants and two RMDs.